Hong Kong stocks climb to 3-week high on Xiaomi earnings, buyback surprise while ZTE surges after US court ends trade probation

Name: China Eastern crash investigators seek clues from flight data and video of plane’s final moments
Uploaded: 2022-03-23T02:40:57.000Z
Duration: 2 min 43 s
Description: China Eastern crash investigators seek clues from flight data and video of plane’s final moments

Xiaomi reported better-than-expected earnings as smartphone maker joined Alibaba Group in unveiling buyback plan to shore up confidence

Chinese telcos enjoyed a marginal bump after a US court ended ZTE’s five-year probation from a 2017 case for breaking US sanctions

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A screen displays the Shenzhen and Hang Seng Index figures in February 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

Zhang Shidong

Published: 10:40am, 23 Mar 2022Updated: 5:01pm, 23 Mar 2022

Hong Kong stocks rose to a three-week high as companies from Xiaomi Corp to WuXi Biologics reported better-than-expected earnings. Alibaba Group extended gains on its record buyback plan while ZTE surged after a US court ended its trade probation.

The Hang Seng Index advanced 1.2 per cent to 22,154.08 at the close of Wednesday trading, the highest since March 3. The Tech Index surged 2.1 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 per cent.

Xiaomi jumped 4.1 per cent to HK$14.78 after fourth-quarter sales and earnings beat analysts’ projections and the smartphone maker unveiled a HK$10 billion (US$1.28 billion) stock buyback programme. WuXi Biologics surged 12 per cent to HK$65.30, also after an upside earnings surprise.

Chinese technology stocks built on a 3.2 per cent rally on Tuesday. Alibaba gained 6.7 per cent to HK$117.60, adding to an 11 per cent rebound after the e-commerce group topped up its buyback programme to a record US$25 billion. Tencent added 0.3 per cent to HK$389 before its earnings report later Wednesday.

“Stocks have already hit the bottom,” said Wang Zheng, chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management in Shanghai. “Massive buyback plans would be one of the signals and corporate earnings prove to have largely withstood the regulatory crackdown.”

Sentiment was also aided by mainland Chinese media reports, which said the central bank still had room to free up more cash in the system by cutting the reserve-requirement ratio and ease borrowing costs in the first half to prop up growth. They added to official verbal support for markets after a rout earlier this month.

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China Eastern crash investigators seek clues from flight data and video of plane’s final moments